<quote who="Ben Donohue"> > how does tar handle links? > > I have several nested layers of folders and some of them are linked back > to other folders. > > If I use tar to make a backup of the root folder and subfolders, does tar > backup the link files or does it backup the REAL files? > > Such that if I do a restore, I want the link files there... not replaced > with copies of the real files. Still googling for answers... is there a > command switch?
By default, tar will do what you've described (at both ends). If you pass --dereference or -h, it will follow the symlinks, thus archiving whatever they point to (directories or files, it'll follow them all). - Jeff -- The Great Australian Internet Blackout http://www.internetblackout.com.au/ "To do: Start up a a magazine dedicated to picky grammar. Call it 'Whom Weekly'." - WzDD -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
